In times of confusion, in times of depression, in times of mistakes, most people say that we are not perfect. Yes this is very true.. From the very beginning, that our parents have sinned to God. That very moment, they became imperfect and will forever be imperfect. But because of the love that God showed to us, He, as a Perfect God, gave His Son just to cleanse our sins and for us to become righteous at the His sight. Since it is very impossible for an imperfect person to face a Perfect God, we were able to feel His presence because of a sinless human and who is a perfect Son. He is Jesus Christ.
While contemplating at His Words, I was also inspired by the message that God gave to me by hearing a song entitled, Perfect People. And with this, even if I am not perfect, I know there is Someone Who is Perfect enough to forgive me, to hug me and to show His love for me.
This is the lyrics of the song sung by a Christian artist, Natalie Grant:
Never let 'em see you when you're breaking
Never let 'em see you when you fall
That's how we live and that's how we try
Tell the world you've got it all together
Never let them see what's underneath
Cover it up with a crooked smile
But it only lasts for a little while
[CHORUS:]
There's no such thing as perfect people
There's no such thing as a perfect life
So come as you are, broken and scarred
Lift up your heart and be amazed
And be changed by a perfect God
Suddenly it's like a weight is lifted
When you hear the words that you are loved
He knows where you are and where you've been
And you never have to go there again
[CHORUS]
Who lived and died to give new life
To heal our imperfections
So look up and see love. Let grace be enough
[CHORUS]
By a perfect God [5x]
Be changed by a perfect God
Be changed
To God be the Glory forever!
Monday, January 11, 2010
Sunday, October 26, 2008
What Happened When...
This is my fourth topic when I preached at our church (October 26, 2008)
What happened WHEN GOD ASKED instead of what GOD SAID?
John 4:21-24
INTRODUCTION
· We normally ask God to do something for us before we do something for Him.
· In reality, Christians’ most favorite part of the prayer is Supplication.
· Prayer is a two-way communication. And we have to realize that in return, God also speaks to us.
· But now, it’s now God’s turn to ask you something and if He asks you for something, how will you respond?
His life circles into three different parts:
· His Worship
· His Play
· His Work
But then, these three parts of his life suddenly mixed up:
· His play became his work
· His work became his worship
· His worship became his play
THEN GOD ASKED, “WHERE IS YOUR WORSHIP?
WHAT MOST CHRISTIANS KNOW ABOUT WORSHIP
· Singing, praising, clapping hands, dancing to the Lord (Ephesians. 5: 19)
· Praying, quiet time, devotion, reading Bible (Deuteronomy 17:19)
· Showing our reverence and gratitude to the Lord (Hebrews 12:28)
And when God asked the wealthy businessman he didn’t know how to respond.
WHEN GOD ASKED…
WHERE IS YOUR WORSHIP (John 4:21-22)
· “Hiding Inside the Closet” Worship (Isaiah 1:11-12)
· “So Near and Yet So Far” Worship (Isaiah 1:13)
· “Coming-In and Going-out” Worship (Isaiah 1:14)
WHAT GOD SAID…
HE WANTS A REAL WORSHIPPER (John 4:23-24)
· “Inside-out not Outside-In” Worshipper (1 Samuel 16:18)
· “Extravagant not Empty” Worshipper (Luke 7:37-38)
· “In Spirit and in Truth” Worshipper (John 4:24)
CONCLUSION
When you know and believe that you are a worshipper and you offer a true worship, God will definitely not ask, “Where is your worship?” instead God will say, “This is what I said from the beginning and I like it.”
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Moving On
This is my topic when I first stood in front of the congregation:
MOVING ON
Hebrews 5:11-14
“To move on is to believe that you can really move on.”
MOVING ON – BITTER PAST, HURTFUL PRESENT, BETTER FUTURE
HISTORY OF HEBREWS
AUTHOR
- UNKNOWN. He is not PAUL
- very clear that he or she is trained rhetorically, familiar with Greek philosophy and very knowledgeable in study of scriptures
- derives the AUTHORITY not from himself but from conforming itself to the address of GOD Himself as expressed in the Scripture, in His Son and in the pattern of obedience, action and worship which Jesus lays down.
WHY IT WAS WRITTEN
- To warn Christians who were in danger of becoming lax in their commitment.
- To refresh the commitment by exhorting readers (or the listeners)
- To encourage the believers to follow the example of Jesus, the High Priest Son of God who was a champion of FAITH.
PAST V. 11
1. COMPROMISE - to reveal or expose to an unauthorized person esp. in an enemy
- what went to your mind when you heard about SIN?
- LAWLESSNESS – Greek word, anomia meaning condition of being without law because of ignorance of it or because of violating it.
- simply means DISOBEDIENCE (it is a SIN)
- LUKE 14:16-24 (MAN giving the supper- Father, Servant- JESUS)
2. CHAINED - to obstruct or protect by a chain (tanikala)
- what are those chains in your life that obstructs you in growing?
- Fear,(1 JOHN 4:18) Deep Love for Something LUKE 12:15 (money, Work, Wealth, Knowledge - causes GREED), Lack of Forgiveness: COLOSIANS 3:13, Pride: PROVERBS 8:13
3. CONDEMNED - to declare guilty after weighing evidence
- ROMANS 2:1
- THE STORY OF THE BLOOD
Because of the bitter past that we have, we cannot move forward. We are stuck into doing things that do not please God. We are stuck in our bitter past. We still compromise into doing sins which in fact as a Christian, we should not. We are chained into something which in fact Jesus already unlocked it. And still, we always condemn ourselves and even other fault because we do not realize that God perfectly forgave us.
PRESENT V.12-13
1. STAGNANT leading to being A MEDIOCRE
- Satan is not just our enemy. We also have an enemy called AVERAGE.
- what is the advantage of staying in your comfort zone? How about the disadvantages?
- When fear covers our hearts, our desire to stay in our comfort zone.
- And if you never take risks, you will never achieve great things.
- THE STORY OF RUTH
2. INDECISIVE leading to being a CARBON COPY
- GALATIANS 6:4-5
- To copy other is to cheat yourself.
- People are born originals but most die copies.
- In this day of peer pressure, trends, we have to realize that we are custom-made by God. We are unique.
3. DEPRESSION leading to asking many QUESTIONS
- PSALM 10:14
- If you have the privilege to ask God, what would it be?
- We always start with WHY question.
- The most famous question is WHY ME GOD?
We Christians, instead eating solid food, we are stuck into drinking milk because we are filled with many negative thoughts in our minds… and when it starts in the mind, it will lead to action until we realize that we are not growing. We are still there (what place are you now) ten years, five years ago. It’s hard to think that we still drink milk which in fact we must be the one who will feed milk to others.
FUTURE V. 14
1. PREPARE - to be ready beforehand for some purpose
- by clinging to the Word of God, praying day & night, worshiping
- by eating the SOLID FOOD (not just eat or swallow…by chewing it)
- JOSHUA 1:8
2. CHANGE - change is an evidence of life
- JEREMIAH 7:5
- change your old lifestyle, your viewpoint
- why YOU? Because it only focuses on your own knowledge. But if we rely on His Word, we can absolutely change our viewpoint and lifestyle.
3. READY FOR SPIRITUAL MATURITY
- PHILIPPIANS 3:12-14
- It is an ongoing process.
- Don’t ever say to yourself that you are spiritually matured.
- Even apostle Paul accepted that he had not yet arrived, yet he continually pressed toward the prize.
Moving on is an action. It’s not just a word that generated from your mind and then spilled out from your mouth. Moving requires something… and that is in your own decision. Moving on still rely on you. Even of God wanted you to move on, but your heart do not want to, it will be very impossible for you to change and move forward. It requires action and faith and in God. Really God can make you move but He still wants you to choose and rely on His plan.
WHAT HAPPENED WHEN YOU TOTALLY MOVED ON?
1. RENEWED STRENGTH - ISAIAH 30:15, ISAIAH 40:31
- retreat to advance
- wait upon the Lord
2. PURE HEART - Pure means - free from harshness or roughness
- free from guilt, in tune (like music.. it creates melody not noise)
- PSALM 51:10
3. NOTICEABLE TRANSITIONS
- COLDNESS TO BURNING DESIRE (EPH. 6:7)
- EMPTINESS TO FULLNESS (JOHN 10:10)
- READER TO LEADER (PSALM 11:6)
FAITH sees the INVISIBLE, believes the INCREDIBLE and receives the IMPOSSIBLE
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Unlearn the Things that You've Learned
how can we unlearn the things that we have already learned. hmm... to apply in our personal life, its really hard kasi you were trying so hard to unlearn the things which is in fact you have already learned it... yah. its different from forgetting because evetnually, you will still remember it... maybe the things that we need to unlearn are the things that caused us so much pain... and made us to be the person who we dont want to be... example, may bitter past ka... and what happened next is that you became worst... instead of moving on.. instead of standing up, you became so weak and so pesimistic... so, what you'll gonna do next is to unlearn that... to not just totally forget that things but drastically turn your back against that norm..
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